Bruce Almighty (5 Stars)

I haven't seen "Bruce Almighty" for at least 16 years, so I was curious to see how it would hold up. The answer is very well indeed. In fact, I'd forgotten just how good it is.

It's a silly film. Very silly in places. Jim Carrey is given the powers of God and naturally proceeds to have enormous fun with them. There are plenty of ridiculous moments and more than once I found myself thinking, "That's silly." But then I realised that the silliness is part of the reason the film works so well. This isn't a film that takes its premise seriously, but it does take its characters seriously.

Bruce is a television reporter who's convinced that God has it in for him. When he's given God's powers, he initially uses them to improve his own life. Why wouldn't he? Then he realises that he should be helping others, so he starts to answer prayers. He soon discovers that being God is more complicated than he imagined. You can't simply make everybody happy, answer every prayer and solve all the world's problems.

That gives the film rather more substance than I remembered. Underneath the comedy there are some surprisingly serious questions about God, free will, prayer and what people actually expect from a higher power. Morgan Freeman is particularly good as God. He doesn't play him as some distant, solemn figure, but as a calm and slightly amused man who lets Bruce discover the answers for himself.

And then there's the love story. Bruce's relationship with Grace is not just an excuse to give the film a romantic subplot. It's an important part of his journey. Bruce spends so much time thinking about what he wants that he fails to appreciate what he already has. His newfound powers eventually teach him something that omnipotence can't give him.

Jim Carrey is perfectly cast, of course. This is the sort of role that allows him to be as manic and ridiculous as he wants, but he also manages to give Bruce enough warmth to make the more emotional scenes work. Jennifer Aniston is equally good as Grace, while Morgan Freeman looks as though he's having a great time being God.

What surprises me most is how well the whole thing hangs together. It's a comedy, a love story and a film that asks some genuinely interesting questions about God, all without becoming too heavy or losing its sense of fun.

It's also a film that doesn't deserve to be forgotten. I'd more or less forgotten it myself, which is why I'm glad I decided to watch it again after all these years. Sometimes a film can disappear into the past simply because there are so many others competing for our attention. "Bruce Almighty" deserves another look.

Life is too short for bad movies. Fortunately, this isn't one of them.

Success Rate:  + 4.0

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de